Sightings: Heartland Ghost (2002)

Another ghost movie I saw some years ago. It is not worth your time. It is boring. The biggest sin a movie can commit - being uninteresting and boring.Migel Ferrer I have always liked, but it is very clear he only took this role for the paycheck. A paycheck I can't imagine having been very big. Very little happens in this movie, and there is nothing that stands out, there is not much I remember at all. Anyone saying this is good is from the crew. Stay clear of this one, it is not scary at all.

I wasn't expecting much from this one, and that's exactly what I got. "True story," indeed. And Bambi is a nature documentary.Where to begin? Without any knowledge of its origins, I had it identified as a TV movie in minutes. The lighting was flat. The actors walked through scene after scene like cardboard cutouts. The monster "effects" - almost makes them sound legit, doesn't it? - amounted to a wide-angle lens and some color saturation. Dreadful. This is the same low-budget effect that became popular with the zero-budget crowd: that monster point of view with Sega colors.The thing that plucked this turkey, though, was the screenplay. The attempts at emotional depth were laughable. Every time one of the characters opened their mouths, I knew they were going to utter some completely clichéd and idiotic thing. I was never disappointed.Sorry about the venom, folks, but I don't want anybody wasting rental money on this one. Beau Bridges, why have you forsaken me?

As a person familiar with the case itself, the movie on its own was good, but I'm of the opinion that if the story isn't sensational enough to make it on its own, don't make up stuff to make it a good movie. I would say about 90% of the events portrayed were complete BS as to what allegedly happened.That said, the movie held my interest until the "shout at the ghost/fire" scene that seems to be prerequisite in ghost films. Very well acted and a good story. Beau Bridges is great in it, although it always frustrates me when people claim to have an open mind but instead are only open minded about what they believe in.

I like haunted house stories and this is a fun one to watch. The plot centers on whether or not the haunting is real and, thankfully, it spares us the typical screaming, gore, and fake monsters that are NOT scary. All that latex is just a reminder that I am watching a movie and quite rudely inserts the filmmaker between the film and me. Despite the positive aspects of the film, though, there is a flash of breasts which is pointless and perfunctory.Nevertheless, this is a well-acted movie--underacted, if anything, which is a rarity within this genre and quite refreshing to see. Beau Bridges is a credit to any cast; he is so comfortable with his craft he appears not to be acting. His agreeable manner and blue-collar charm make him seem as though he is a beloved and much-missed family member. Likewise, Miguel Ferrer is a welcome talent who can sleepwalk through this part, which is far beneath his extensive ability. The character is sketchy and doesn't always adhere to the expected behavior of its personality or background. However, the character's inconsistencies are not due to the complexity of character we all have, but rather a lack of complexity.This is not a frightening movie and not altogether memorable, but if you want to just kick back and watch a satisfying movie, this is a good one to watch.